For the last several seasons, the strength of the Philadelphia Phillies minor league system has been pitching.

This year, it appears, things are no different.

When the Double-A Reading Fightin Phils open the season April 4 at New Hampshire, the expectation from the organization's top minor league official is that the dugout should be full of strong arms.

"I think we're going to have a very good rotation," said Joe Jordan, the Phillies' director of player development, last week prior to the team's Annual Winter Banquet at the Crowne Plaza Reading, Wyomissing. "I think the bullpen has a chance to be really good, a lot of good arms. So I really like, at least now what it looks like on paper and what we're anticipating happening out of camp, I really like what we're going to have on the mound."

The headliner, of course, is left-handed starter Jesse Biddle, the team's No. 1 draft pick in 2010 and its top prospect, according to Baseball America. He went 10-6 with a 3.22 ERA in 26 starts last season at Single-A Clearwater.

The 21-year-old will anchor a rotation that also likely will include lefties Adam Morgan and Austin Wright, and right-hander David Buchanan.

Morgan, rated the organization's No. 5 prospect by Baseball America, made six starts for Reading last season, going 4-1 with a 3.53 ERA after spending most of the year at Clearwater (4-10, 3.29 ERA in 21 games).

Wright was named the Florida State League Pitcher of the Year after going 11-5 with a 3.47 ERA in 27 games, 25 of them starts, at Clearwater.

Buchanan was limited to 12 starts with Reading due to a ruptured tendon in his right middle finger and went 3-5 with a 3.86 ERA.

The makeup of the bullpen is less certain, if only because Jordan sees so many guys vying for the seven available spots.

"It's going to be a dogfight," he said.

Among those who figure to battle it out in the Florida sun are right-handers Tyler Knigge, Colby Shreve and Kyle Simon, and left-hander Jay Johnson, who all saw time in Reading in 2012. Jordan also mentioned two righties who spent all of last season in Clearwater - Juan Sosa and Hector Neris - as guys who eventually could contribute at the Double-A level.

"I'm not tying any of these guys to a roster. I just like the fact that we've got a lot of options," Jordan said. "There's just a lot of factors. If we keep guys healthy, we have a chance to be pretty good."

Jordan said things are less certain concerning what position players will open the season with the Fightin Phils.

One player who could return is Cody Asche, the fourth-round pick in 2011 who is rated by Baseball America as the Phils' No. 7 prospect and considered the third baseman of the future. He hit .349 with two homers and 25 RBIs in 62 games with Clearwater, then .300 with 10 homers and 47 RBIs in 68 games with Reading.

"That hasn't been decided," Jordan said of where Asche will open the season. "We'll see in spring training what we think is the best thing to do. If he starts here, it's fine. It's a good level. He doesn't have to move up from Day One."

Another player Jordan mentioned was center fielder Zach Collier, one of the team's first-round picks in 2008.

Collier, who turned 22 in September, has had his struggles since being taken with the 34th overall pick and he missed the beginning of last season while serving a 50-game suspension for amphetamines.

He ended up hitting .269 with six homers, 32 RBIs and 11 steals in 78 games with Clearwater, then turned heads in the prospect-laden Arizona Fall League. He hit .371 with 10 RBIs and a .461 on-base percentage in 19 games.

"He's put himself in position to possibly make this club," Jordan said.

Reading also figures to have either Sebastian Valle or Tommy Joseph as the starting catcher. They are expected to battle for the starting spot at Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

If Joseph, rated the organization's No. 3 prospect by Baseball America, begins on the Reading roster, the Fightin Phils could have four of Philadelphia's top 10 prospects to start the season.

"We do have questions as far as position players go, but I do feel like we have options," Jordan said. "We're just going to have to let it play out in camp. I'm going to say we feel like we have 80, 85 percent of the roster where we feel like we know what's going to happen. That doesn't mean it will. We'll have our eyes open in spring training and see what happens."

•More moves? The heavy lifting of the offseason has been done, but Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. continues to look for ways to tweak the team's roster.

"We have a couple other things we're still working on," he said.

With catcher Carlos Ruiz out for the season's first 25 games for violating Major League Baseball's performance-enhancing drug policy, the top priority is more catching depth. Right now the Phillies have three catchers headed to major league camp with big league experience: Erik Kratz, Humberto Quintero and Steven Lerud.

Amaro also said the team could add to its bullpen and middle infield depth.

Any more additions likely would be through minor league signings.

•One to watch: Left-hander Hoby Milner has been in the Phillies' system less than a year - he was a seventh-round pick out of the University of Texas in June - but he seems poised to rapidly move up the organizational ladder, at least according to Marti Wolever, the team's assistant general manager, amateur scouting.

"He should pitch in Reading I think fairly soon," said Wolever, who is in charge of the team's drafts. "He just has a real good feel on the mound, great makeup."